Hydroelectric turbine

ABSTRACT

A hydroelectric turbine anchored in a body of water which produces electricity directly from its housing. The turbine is in and of itself a generator whose housing is its stator and whose blade it its rotor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

“Not Applicable”

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

“Not Applicable”

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

“Not Applicable”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In existing hydro systems, whether low or high head, the runner (or blade) converts rotational energy to torque energy in a shaft. U.S. Pat. No. 98,552 is a common type shaft driven turbine. Patent Ser. No. 09/231,063 is a more recent open center, peripherally driven turbine. The embodiment eliminates the shaft. It converts flow energy directly to electricity by the use of magnets imbedded in the periphery of its blade and cores imbedded in its housing. As the blade is rotated by the flow, electricity is produced in the windings of the core.

The embodiment is a combination of what is old (the open center turbine) and what is new (a free floating turbine blade which is a rotor).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Present turbine designs, whether open center or central shaft type, produce electricity by the use of generators. This invention produces electricity by combining the turbine and generator in one unit. Instead of the hydroelectric turbine producing the energy to turn a generator, the hydroelectric turbine is the generator.

A water flow through the rotor blade causes the rotor blade to rotate. The rotation of the blade causes a magnetic field necessary to produce electricity from the coils. The coils are connected together in such a way as to produce the desired voltage and current to pass through conductors to an electrical land based grid.

The opposing force of one group of magnets aid in maintaining alignment of the rotor blade on its horizontal axis.

The opposing force of another group of magnets, in conjunction with a water lubricated bearing material, aid in preventing the rotor blade from being forced downstream.

An additional aspect of the embodiment is that the rotor (blade) is free floating in the turbine housing and is not mechanically attached to the housing. Central alignment has been achieved by embedding opposing magnets in both the blade periphery and the housing interior on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the turbine. To prevent the blade from being forced downstream by the water flow, opposing magnets have been embedded in the blade periphery and the housing parallel to the axis. To prevent the blade from moving forward or falling out of the housing during shut down or maintenance, stops are mechanically attached to the interior of the housing upstream of the blade.

The magnetic field necessary to produce electricity occurs inside a non-magnetic material which:

-   a. eliminates excessive saltwater which is not compatible with the     high intensity magnetic field necessary for the production of     electricity; -   b. acts as a bearing surface to help maintain horizontal alignment     of the blade (rotor).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a front view of the open center hydroelectric turbine without stops (for sake of clarity).

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view taken at the centerline of the turbine section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The housing (1) is either anchored in a body of water (low head application), fixed in a dam (high head application) or attached to the interior of a pipe. Whatever the application, housing (1) is stationary.

The outer rim (2), blade (3), inner rim (4), magnet (6), magnet (8) and magnet (9) are fixed as one unit and rotated by the water flow.

The magnet (6) and core with windings (5) do the work of producing electricity.

The magnets (8) and (7) do the work of alignment to the axis.

The magnets (9) and (10) prevent blade (3) from being pushed downstream by the water flow.

The stop (11) prevents the runner from moving upstream. 

1. A hydroelectric turbine whose only moving part is its rotor blade.
 2. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 1 which produces electricity without the use of a central shaft or generator.
 3. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 1 which produces electricity without being mechanically attached to a generator.
 4. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 1 whose blade is its rotor.
 5. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 1 whose housing is its stator.
 6. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 1 whose stator (housing) and rotor (blade) does the work of generating electricity.
 7. A hydroelectric turbine whose blade is not mechanically connected to it.
 8. A method of claim 2 using magnets and a water lubricated bearing material to prevent the rotor blade of a hydroelectric turbine from contacting its housing.
 9. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 2 whose blade is held on location within its housing by the use of magnets.
 10. A hydroelectric turbine which utilizes both magnets and a water lubricated bearing to maintain alignment of its rotor.
 11. A method of claim 3 of using magnets to prevent the blade of a hydroelectric turbine from being forced downstream.
 12. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 3 which has a water lubricated bearing surface attached to the interior of its stator which aids in the alignment of its rotor.
 13. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 3 which has no central shaft and uses both magnets and water lubricated bearings to maintain alignment of its rotor.
 14. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 3 which has a water lubricated bearing material mechanically attached to its housing to aid magnets in maintaining alignment of its horizontal axis.
 15. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 3 which utilizes both magnets and a water lubricated bearing to prevent the rotor blade from being forced downstream.
 16. A hydroelectric turbine which has no central shaft and whose blade is its rotor and whose housing is its stator.
 17. A method of using magnets to align a rotor blade of a hydroelectric turbine on its horizontal axis.
 18. A method of maintaining the clearance between the stator and rotor of a hydroelectric turbine by the use of magnets and a water lubricated non-magnetic bearing material.
 19. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 6 which has magnets embedded in and mechanically attached to the periphery of the turbine blade which is rotated by a water flow.
 20. A method of reducing friction between the stator and rotor of a hydroelectric turbine of claim 6 consisting of using a water lubricated bearing material on the stator arranged to contact a metallic or porcelain surface on the rotor when out of horizontal alignment occurs with the rotor.
 21. A hydroelectric turbine of claim 6 which does not use a central shaft to maintain alignment of its rotor within the stator.
 22. A method of claim 6 requiring the magnetic field necessary to produce electricity to take place within a non-magnetic bearing material in order to displace saltwater.
 23. A hydroelectric turbine which uses three distinctly separate groups of magnets: one group of magnets arranged to produce the magnetic field necessary to produce electricity; one group of magnets arranged similar poles facing each other to maintain alignment of the rotor; and, one group of magnets arranged similar poles facing each other to prevent the rotor from being forced downstream by the force of the water against the rotor.
 24. A method of producing electricity from the stator housing of a hydroelectric turbine.
 25. A method of displacing saltwater thru the use of a non-magnetic bearing material. 